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Wednesday 20 August 2014

NO LET UP ON SWAZI MEDIA CENSORSHIP

The Swaziland Government will not let up on its control of state radio, Minister of Information, Communication and Technology (ICT) Dumisani Ndlangamandla said.

He said state media, which includes television and radio, existed primarily to serve the interests of the state.

This would mean that the strict censorship that existed in Swaziland would continue.

Ndlangamandla was speaking in the Swazi parliament in response to questions from MPs about the future control of media in the kingdom which is ruled by King Mswati III, sub-Saharan Africa’s last absolute monarch. Political parties are not allowed to stand in elections and most are banned outright. The King appoints the Prime Minister, who also serves as editor-in-chief of state media.

Some MPs wanted to remove Swaziland Broadcasting and Information Services (SBIS) and Swazi TV from government control.

The Times of Swaziland, the only independent daily newspaper in the kingdom, reported Manzini North MP Jan Sithole saying radio and TV, ‘only cover news which the State wants covered and they are not open to the public as they should, yet they are run with taxpayers’ money’.

The newspaper reported, ‘The MP also raised concern about the silent censorship of politicians by the State media, since no MP is ever interviewed or shown on TV.’

The Times reported, ‘Matsanjeni MP Phila Buthelezi said SBIS Radio, for instance, was not primarily for its listeners. 

‘He clarified that it was disappointing that news which one would expect a national radio station to run is not broadcast by the station. Buthelezi wondered how the editing of news went on in the station.’

The Times added, ‘Meanwhile, the minister was unambiguous in saying that State mediums cannot be delinked from the State because it would be detrimental to the country.’

Censorship of radio and television in Swaziland is not new. In August 2012 the government announced that in advance of the national election in September 2013 radio would be banned from broadcasting news and information that did not support the government’s own agenda.

All radio in the kingdom, except one Christian station that does not broadcast news, is state-controlled.

New guidelines also barred ‘public service announcements’ unless they were ‘in line with government policy’ or had been authorised ‘by the chiefs through the regional administrators’ or deputy prime minister’s office’.

The guidelines said the radio stations could not be ‘used for purposes of campaigning by individuals or groups, or to advance an agenda for political, financial popularity gains for individuals or groups’. 

Media in Swaziland are severely censored. There are only two TV stations in the kingdom, the state-controlled Swazi TV and the independent Channel S, which has a publicly-stated policy of supporting King Mswati.

There is a long history of censorship on state broadcasting in Swaziland. Strikes and anti-government demonstrations are usually ignored by broadcasters. Sometimes live radio programmes are censored on air. In July 2011, the plug was pulled on a phone-in programme when listeners started criticising the government for its handling of the economy. Percy Simelane, who was then the boss of SBIS, and went on to become the government’s official spokesperson, personally stormed the radio studio and cut the programme.  

In April 2011, Welile Dlamini, a long-time news editor at SBIS, challenged the Prime Minister Barnabas Dlamini at an editors’ forum meeting on why the state radio station was told by the government what and what not to broadcast. Welile Dlamini said that at the station they were instructed to spike certain stories such as those about demonstrations by progressives and strike action by workers. The PM responded by saying editors should resign if they were not happy with the editorial policies they are expected to work with.  

In March 2011, SBIS stopped broadcasting the BBC World Service Focus on Africa programme after it carried reports critical of King Mswati III. In the same month, SBIS failed to cover the march by nurses that forced the Swazi Government into paying them overdue allowances. 

In 2010, Swazi police told SBIS it must stop allowing people to broadcast information about future meetings unless the police had given permission. Jerome Dlamini, Deputy Director of the SBIS said this was to stop the radio station airing an announcement for a meeting that was prohibited. 

He said, ‘It’s the station’s policy not to make announcements without police permission.’ 

In 2006, the minister for public service and information, Themba Msibi, warned the Swazi broadcasters against criticising the king.

MISA reported at the time, ‘The minister’s threats followed a live radio programme of news and current affairs in which a human rights lawyer criticised the king’s sweeping constitutional powers.’

Human rights lawyer Thulani Maseko, had been asked to comment on a visit by an African Union (AU) human rights team which was on a fact-finding mission to Swaziland.

‘In response, Maseko said that, as human rights activists, they had concerns about the king’s sweeping constitutional powers and the fact that he the king was wrongfully placed above the Constitution. He said they were going to bring this and other human rights violations to the attention of the AU delegation. 


‘Not pleased with the broadcast, the government was quick to respond. Msibi spoke on air the following day to sternly warn the media against criticising the king. He said the media should exercise respect and avoid issues that seek to question the king or his powers. 

‘The minister said his message was not directed only to radio but to all media, both private and government-owned. He said that in government they had noticed that there was growing trend in the media to criticise the king when he should be above criticism and public scrutiny,’ MISA reported.

Maseko, a long-time campaigner for human rights, was jailed for two years along with Nation Magazine editor Bheki Makhubu in July 2014 for writing articles critical of the Swazi judiciary.

See also

BILL LETS KING CONTROL BROADCASTING
MOVE TO MERGE STATE BROADCASTERS
BROADCASTING IS NOT FOR THE PEOPLE
GOVT ‘TIGHTENS GRIP ON CENSORSHIP’
KING’S PAPER BACKS RADIO CENSORSHIP
GOVT BANS MPS FROM THE RADIO
NEW RADIO CENSORSHIP RULES RELEASED
http://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2012/08/new-radio-censorship-rules-released.html

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